


Underneath the Castle

by JakerpLane



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Bastard Character, Gen, More about OC's than Levi because he isn't too social
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-30
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-01-10 15:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1161075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JakerpLane/pseuds/JakerpLane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After all meaningful attempts to draw out an answer fails, Eishi, a naiive noble teen heads into the slums to investigate where his brother disappears to each and every night. Naturally, chaos happens when he is discovered, leading to a set of unfortunate events, in which the equally unlucky Levi is dragged into, ending up in an awkward friendship that is brutally honest. Levi is not the type of character to hold back sharp words of criticism, and would not approach a noble unless his life was on the line. Having grown up with a lack of emotion, and able to keep his distance from others, he finds the outgoing and silly Eishi contrasting with him as if he was standing next to a rainbow. However, due to strange circumstances, both of them are forced into painful situations that ultimately shapes who they become.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Slum Trip

**Author's Note:**

> This is an Unbeta-ed work. Apologies if I miss correcting any grammar. Because of this, the chapters are likely also short.

_In the underground slums, there were darker activities than I could ever imagine. Surrounded by the rich areas where many mansions were built, I lived with my family. I am not sure why I am writing about this now, but maybe it is because I met him on the day that my life started to change._

* * *

"Hey..." It was a sudden start to the normally conversational one in their travels. They walked down a rather long path from the garden to the fountain. Eishi spent most of that time before that in the background inside, watching noble kids dance and socialize. Many joked that he was their new wallflower for every party that was held, but he didn't seem to mind. He stared first at the fountain with slight ripples that formed due to the statue spouting water. It was the only thing disturbing a simple reflection of the stars above the sky. He then reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his brother. He figured that if there wasn't a better time to ask other than now, he would never get the nerve to confront him later.

Jake had been tired of being surrounded by others at the party. He had left on his own but he didn't seem to mind that he was being followed.

"Where do you go at night?" Eishi asked.

He was watched with an expression that he could not identify at that moment. "Does it really matter?"

Eishi was frustrated by then. "It does. You show up back home and you don't say a thing to me, but I can tell that you haven't slept because you haven't been in your room since I checked on your birthday. Do you know how dangerous it is to go out alone at that time?"

Jake smirked by then, standing still next to the fountain, as if he knew better, and that bugged him because it was a secret that he couldn't get to. A big one. "The military police will protect us," he stated. "They know better than to disobey father. They are probably watching us right now."

"That's beside the point! They can't be around all the time and I know you, Jake. You don't like them watching over us any more than I do and you wouldn't just stand out there if you weren't sure that they couldn't see. Do you think that there are many places that we can go and they don't?"

He seemed about ready to respond when a girl from the party indoors called out to him. Jake avoided him for a pretty long time next week. That was when Eishi had enough of waiting around indoors at night.

* * *

He did not know what he was doing but he was dressed for the worst case scenario, with a winter coat and a scarf over his body, but still light enough for travel. He tried to dress simple enough, with pants that didn't stand out much. Noble clothing was a good chance for targeting and they usually travelled around in carriages for this reason. His brother was off in the distance, and he tracked him until they found a path to somewhere underground. It was an entrance to the underground slums, between a dirty set of buildings where homeless people would sometimes sit outside as they begged for coins. His gaze widened and he tightened the scarf over his face before he ran forth, almost into filthy water at the end of the steps.

His brother's steps could not be far off. He followed the sound of footsteps, walking past horrific scenes of dead bodies piled up in the corner, long rotted away and nothing but skulls staring hollowly out at him with it's shadowed gazes. Rats scurried to the side as his own footsteps echoed along but he finally entered upon a path that was not accompanied by the water. It was a crowd of people, all dressed in rag like clothes, the material ripped in places. He walked past them still, worried that he had lost his brother for good. Past near the entrance of the streets where people huddled alongside it, trying to sleep were what looked like thieves. This crowd was filled with burly looking men, all strolling or standing in their own groups and generally more confident, but even further than that seemed to be underground buildings and what resembled a city street. He heard two of the men talking to each other, as he skirted himself behind a wall.

"That kid is hard as fuck to take down. You wouldn't think one of those pigs knew where to hide and run in a place like this."

The other man seemed just as grumpy. "Still a bastard if I've ever seen one. He doesn't belong here and already stabbed Gerick. What is this! Some kind of hunting game?"

"We'll get him back for this."

* * *

He didn't stick around to hear the rest, simply stumbling back from his listening position. His brother couldn't be far off, but he was a little dazed now.  _What's going on, are they talking about him?_  A chilly breeze whipped around the underground slums, and Eishi pulled his scarf closer to his face.  _I don't believe it. Why would he do something like that?_

He stumbled into what looked like a group of kids huddled around on the ground. The inner city area didn't seem any more welcoming, with the way they looked. He ducked his head and walked past them, trying not to look at the poverty that existed around this area, but it wasn't long before he was lost. He was deeply heading the wrong direction, feeling somewhat upset, wondering if he could have possibly been able to figure out sooner, and why such a thing would be hidden from him. The possible thought of it being that his brother could be killing someone seemed to sink in before he almost stumbled into a person nearby. It was a teenager, around his age, wearing a hooded cloak. He stared at him, and saw that the other's expression was particularly moody as he walked past him, so he watched them warily, distracted enough to bump into someone.

It was a big burly man, who had seemed intent on intercepting their path. "Hey kid," he said, and the boy glanced around just to see that he was suddenly surrounded. "That hurt. Aren't you going to apologize or something?"

He said nothing for the moment, eyes wide and frozen, before instinct hit him and he attempted to run for it, darting past the nearest man and towards what looked like an empty alleyway. Unfortunately, he was grabbed by the scarf and it fell off.

Eishi was average height for a kid of seventeen, around 5'4". When his family had adopted him to replace a dead sister, he had thought nothing of it, until he heard whispers from the relatives that he looked like a girl. He didn't mind, since all kids his age seemed to be on the girly side too, but then again, it seemed logical that a rich family would pick a decent looker if they ever did choose a child from an orphanage. The purple hair color was overlooked in this area, and he was allowed to keep his hair long to medium length, pulled back into a braid.

Apparently, before he could get pulverized by the man, or god knew what else, a flurry of movement rushed past him, and knocked the person into the ground. He stared, gaping awkwardly and dumbstruck when someone literally flew from the ground and started landing punches and kicks. The group of men didn't really just stand around either. They were suddenly busy attempting to dodge and kick the lone fighter. It was like something out of a theater play, in which a hero took down a whole crowd. He backed away into the wall that he thought that he could escape to, but something kept him from running away, namely that he saw the hooded fighter, whose face was still recognizable even from the distance that Eishi stayed in throughout the battle.

Levi only had one man down to go, and he knew it wouldn't look good based on the weapon the guy pulled out. A sword had pretty good range, and it seemed like this man was attempting to play Cassanova from whoever he jacked that off of, along with some cape. It was too bad that he was also balding and had rotten teeth. They aimed at him and swung their sword. Lowering himself into a crouched position he launched one of the arrows into the air and pivoted his body upwards. The glint of metal caught his eye as it started rushing towards him, and he used his own knife in order to repel it, catching the strike with two blades crossed in front of him that echoed loudly throughout the somewhat quiet alley they fought in. But the guy had some kind of trick up his sleeve. A loud bang sounded through the alleyway and smoke filtered through everywhere.

He launched back and tried to sense for footsteps and located the man from his sound.

"Levi!" The man had feinted a slash to the side and did a lower uppercut, only to be repelled by another source. Isabel had jabbed her own sword into the guy's neck before the full weight of the blow could take place, but some of the damage had already been done. He stumbled back, at some point, but knew that he was cut, and it was rather deep as well, not enough to damage organs but just enough to get seriously infected if left untreated. "What the hell happened to ya? Didn't you say it'd only take 5 minutes?!"

That was when Eishi moved away from the alleyway and ran up to the two. "Wait!" he shouted out.

Isabel paused and turned to stare at him. "What do you want?" She asked, the look on her face plainly stating that more pressing matters were at hand.

He skidded to a stop. "I know someone who can help him. It's my fault that he got in this state, so at the very least, allow me to repay the debt."

She eyed him and squinted a bit. "You aren't from around here. What makes you think -"

"Enough!" Levi broke in, as he attempted to move away. "I can take care of myself."

Eishi sighed, and reached into his pocket, holding out what looked like a good amount of money in his pouch. "If you take me back to the upper city, I will give you this, and I will guarantee that your friend is good as new when he comes back."

They both stared at him, looking at the amount of money that was actually Eishi's birthday present to his brother.

"You really aren't from around here," sighed Isabel. "What kind of moron goes around here with that much money on hand?"

The trip back to the upper city remained uneventful, but partly because Levi had collapsed halfway there, and they were suddenly in a bit of a hurry.


	2. Levi wakes up

It seemed much too soon when Eishi arrived at the house of the doctor that he just knew he had to bring Levi to. It had been much more exciting than he wanted to admit, as they dashed past houses with gazes watching them curiously. Isabel took it all in stride, even glaring at some people ahead of them, before they made their way past. Eishi thought he heard Isabel murmuring something about a guy named Farland but he was distracted abruptly as the sight of the doctor's house came into view. They hopped up the steps, with Levi in tow and he rang the doorbell loudly.

It was a pretty normal looking house, and the only thing that seemed to make it unique about other brick and wooden areas was that there were gentle chimes that hung over the porch, making soft rippling noises should the wind brush against it. Eishi had always been calmed by the sound of it back when he visited as a kid. It was like something mystical before they entered the coziest looking place in the entire area. Sai was a doctor who was well off, who looked rather healthy for his age and always had a set of glasses on him, so the gentle tune seemed to fit the guy.

The door was opened a few moments later, and the smell of baked sweets lingered in the air. Sai had pulled off his mittens, usually with little cat symbols all over it but he still had on an apron.

"Eishi?" He seemed a bit surprised. "That was a pretty sudden visit. What's happened this time?" His gaze fell on Levi and he seemed to study him a bit. He sighed, and pulled open the door wider for both of them to step in.

"He collapsed on our way here," said Eishi. "I think it could be serious."

"And I wish you could give me a notice ahead of time! Place him on the guest bed," Sai simply stated as if everything was still in order. "I will look at him. You and your friend should take a seat while I examine the damage."

Isabel looked around the place. "That's very nice of you, but are you sure you aren't going to ask for payment first?" She furrowed her brows, looking a bit suspicious.

Sai smiled over to her, and shook his head as if to indicate a silent "No" before he glanced over to Eishi and just left. They could hear the sound of some electronical furniture being shut off, and Eishi assumed it was the oven.

He led Isabel to where the room was, holding Levi on one hand, with Isabel supporting him practically over her shoulder. It was an awkward silence between the two, as he opened the door and they both dragged the unconscious man over to the bed. It was then that Eishi realized how small of a frame that Levi really was, the guy must have been quite fragile, and yet the strength beneath his frame was amazing back when he was in action. Isabel bit her lip before she pulled the covers over him.

"If you die on me now, Levi.. I swear Farland's going to never let me hear the end of it." She let out a breath and then glanced over to Eishi. "Just so you know, he didn't save you. We were targeting those guys thanks to something they took from us initially. Are you still happy with paying for this?"

"Yeah," he said, looking at the other who seemed deep in sleep the entire time. The black locks were trembling slightly as the other seemed to be sweating a bit. "If he wasn't there, I'd be kidnapped or sold into slavery, so I already decided what I was going to do. After this, you guys can return safely."

The two drifted off into silence for one more awkward moment before Isabel finally whistled and patted Eishi on the shoulder. "I guess not all of you rich people are all that bad," she said. "I was surprised you came back from your hiding spot."

Eishi grinned awkwardly. "Had no clue where I was going anyway," he shrugged, a blush tinting up his features as he found it weird to be called brave for something so stupid.

A knock on the door frame signalled that Sai was ready to take a look at Levi. Eishi watched nervously as Levi was examined, feeling the seconds tick by as if they were really minutes. He figured that Isabel felt the same, as they watched as Sai examined the injuries.

"Pneumonia due to the weather," muttered Sai. "Huge wound, pretty deep. I will have to wrap him up in some bandages." He stood up from his position next to the bedside. "He will have to stay here for a bit," he said, and then looked to Isabel in particular. "You two can visit him as often as you will like, but he will not be recovering immediately. I recommend that he rest for at least two weeks."

Isabel blinked. "Two weeks huh? He won't like that!"

The purple haired boy of the group simply relaxed. "It means he's going to be all right then?"

Sai nodded. "Yes," He said in a kind manner. "He just needs time to recuperate, as well as other treatment."

Eishi nodded and left the room. Isabel stayed behind to question Sai a bit more, but the boy had heard enough, and was pretty exhausted himself. He glanced out the window, and saw that a Military Police officer was standing nearby, and found that he had to move straight for the couch to collapse onto it. He grew tired as the sleepiness drew him into an almost numb and comfortably warm state. It didn't help that the chimney fire nearby made soft flickering noises to further the relief and the general atmosphere of being in a safe place.

 _To hell with everything that happened,_ he thought to himself.  _I'll deal with it later._

* * *

When he woke up, Isabel had left, and Sai handed him a note from her that simply said that he was dead meat if anything happened to Levi, and that they were going to watch him like a hawk. He couldn't help but roll his eyes up at the ceiling, and add it to the list of people who usually watched him during his private life, from love letters to school drama. Still, before all this had happened, it had been pretty boring back home. Sure, Eishi was rich and had everything that he could possibly want, and not starving out on the streets was the best way to go in this world, but he was beginning to understand why Jake went off into the slums like he did, although he wasn't sure he would be able to do that himself.

Eishi looked down at the note in his hand, some scratch paper that Sai had on handy, written with smooth ink. Isabel knew how to write, but her writing was rather sloppy, leaving Eishi to believe that she hadn't much practice. He stood up from the couch and looked over at Sai, raising a hand to rub at his eyes as he resisted a yawn. "How is he?" He asked, crumpling up the note in his hand and dropping it so that it could be thrown out with the scraps.

"Mildly awake, I explained the situation to him," Sai commented, reaching over and setting down a plate of cookies in front of the other, and a glass cup of tea. "I explained to your father what was going on," he added, just as calmly. "And as for the bill, I wouldn't worry about it for now."

Eishi looked over at Sai. "Huh?"

"That kid with you is not a normal friend of yours, is he? I think he could use a little charity every now and then," Sai responded, and then left the room. The doctor was nice enough, but surprisingly rather distant when it came to being social. Perhaps that's why he was always fishing Eishi out of trouble.

He glanced over at the door to the guest room and headed to it, finding his curiosity reawakened as he peeked through carefully. Levi was lying on the bed, and seemed to be awake, but there was a towel over his head. The bedsheet covered the wound which was likely bandaged up by now, as his hands seemed to be lying in a lifeless pose above. It seemed as if the guy was deep in thought, despite the red hue over his face, which signalled that he was still under some sort of fever. When Eishi moved closer, his face turned and his eyes stared over at him, piercing sharply in a gaze that seemed more serious and more alert than any kid that he'd ever met before.

He looked over at the other, and they looked back. Eishi felt as if crickets could easily start some opera in the atmosphere that fell over them for the moment.

Surprisingly, it was the other person who broke the silence. "What do you want?"

That snapped him out of whatever speechlessness that he had felt for the moment. "I uh.. I was wondering if you wanted a cookie..." He trailed off and then changed his tactic pretty quickly, from the incredulous look on the other's face. "I'm just here to see how you're doing!"

Levi paused, and then turned his face back to the ceiling. "I'm sure he told you," he said. He made a face at that moment as if he was upset about whatever he had said.

"Sai told me that you had to stay here for 2 weeks," he added in what he hoped was a helpful manner.

"I could be gone in one. This place is filthy."

Eishi blinked at the unexpected answer, and glanced around. "Where?!"

The black haired boy raised a hand and gestured around. "It's dusty everywhere. And there is a red stain on the wall over there."

He frowned, not seeing it as he peered over and walked up close to search for the stain on the wall, he said and squinted, pointing at one dot. "You mean this one?"

"More over to your right…"

"Whoa.. I see it now!"

He stared at the wall for what looked like an eternity, clearly not sure how to get rid of it. He'd seen some of the maids work before, and he supposed they used a cloth and some of the kids back at the orphanages would use toothbrushes. But it'd been a pretty long time ago. Still, at some point he realized that it was not a good idea to let the other guy leave past doctor's recommendations. "You're supposed to stay here until you recover fully," he started. "I'll get someone to clean up the room for you."

Levi didn't answer him but he seemed somewhat more pleased with Eishi's answer.

"Also," the noble kid added. "I wanted to thank you for interfering back there. I thought I was a dead guy."

"You would have been dead," Levi answered swiftly. "What were you thinking showing up there? I know better places to commit suicide at."

He stared at the other with wide eyes when they said that. "Suicide? You can commit suicide there?" He seemed pretty worried for a moment, but if Levi noticed, he didn't comment, and he didn't feel like continuing the conversation all of a sudden. When someone pointed it out like that, it was kind of scary, in the possibility that his brother went there to kill himself. "It wasn't like that, I was just looking for someone."

Levi scoffed. "Bring one of the Military Police with you next time," he advised. "But then again, they could probably be useless too," he muttered quietly in a tone that Eishi almost didn't hear.

"Yeah, they could be," he agreed, and that seemed to put the conversation off entirely, as each of them might have found a topic in which there was no argument to be had. "Is it really that bad there?" he asked, finally. "I mean, it looked pretty bad, but I saw some people and they looked around my age."

Eishi was beginning to understand that with Levi, the other wasn't going to talk to him easily, meaning that there were going to be a lot of pauses as he tried to get the other to tell him things. But somewhere deep down, he thought that maybe it wasn't so bad, that his brother could be there for some other reason. The childish side of him thought that it was some heroic tale, and that maybe there was some important reasoning behind all of this, but his hopes were simply dashed with Levi's next, somewhat muted response.

"A target like you could have been killed by me."


	3. Back to Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Levi is awake, Eishi decides to play a family visitor, and every day after school, he makes a trip over to Sai's home. On this day, he brings books and a guest.

"Hey you, out of my way!"

A shout rang out from down the hallway as Eishi collided with someone and sent books falling all over the floor. The guy seemed to be from a rival academy in comparison to theirs. Around this time, the schools were having a sports tournament and was hosting a friendly match, as well as housing the best team members from the rival school they were to be competing against. Select friends were allowed to accompany, and always proved to cause some sort of chaos somehow, since everyone seemed to be in the winning spirits.

Eishi leant over to pick up the books, but the guy simply shoved him back a bit, causing him to stumble in surprise.

"If you had moved aside, then this wouldn't have happened."

"..." He simply stared at the other as he realized that they were trying to pick a fight.

"Aren't you going to say something? Well?" The person grew impatient as Eishi glanced to the side and looked as if he were ready to dart away. "Damnit. That's it!" They raised their hand and looked about to land a punch on him, before someone stopped them with a hand on their wrist.

Jake had shown up, and accompanying him were his usual friends flanked on either side of him; two serious-faced boys called Jonathan and Mitchell. "As usual, kids from the West side of the wall seem to be overstaying their welcome. Are you actually one of the team members here or a friend of theirs?"

Eishi frowned and raised a hand to wave and get Jake's attention. "Lets just forget about this. There's a pile of books in the hallway and people could trip over them here."

Jake nodded his head over to Jonathan and Mitchell, before he looked over at Eishi. "I'll take care of this," He said, as the guy he was holding made a somewhat pained noise due to the pressure of the grip that was around his wrist. "The books will be delivered over to your room later. Run along to class now."

Eishi frowned and looked dubiously at the pile. "But - "

His brother's eyes flashed and the look on his face was quite serious, so much that Eishi broke off in the end. "Are you questioning my methods?"

He glanced over at the guy who was glaring at both of them now, but with gritted teeth, to the point that Eishi was worried that they could be in serious trouble either way if he didn't leave. Without another look, he headed over to class, dashing quickly over because he realized that he was 5 minutes late.

 

* * *

 

 

In the classroom, all the students had already filed in. Eishi gave a nervous excuse to the teacher, and wasn't even given a slap to the wrist as he took his seat next to his best friend. They had known each other since school had started. It was to be their last year in this place, before they would grow up and choose whichever professions that they wanted. Audrey wanted to become a sort of detective one day, and coupled with both their curiosities, they would end up in tons of trouble. She was a silver haired girl with ever-dreaming irises, clear and light blue, soft spoken and the perfect companion if Eishi ever wanted a good listener. She didn't seem one bit surprised to see him late for class, as he admittedly was the type to be wandering off somewhere before he lost track of time.

The teacher started the lesson, and gave a lecture, before it was time to pair up in groups for a project. Eishi had to admit that he wasn't very focused, and seeing as it was art class, there wasn't much that interested him on the subject. He looked down at his paper and started doodling what he could see of Audrey as she also attempted to draw him.

"What's wrong?" she murmured softly, her pen scratching quietly along the surface of the sketchpad.

He looked up, pausing in his own scrawls as he tried to make an outline of Audrey's bangs. They were neatly cut in a cutely sensible fashion, and Eishi knew he could trust her, but partly told her the truth because he knew she would find out some other way.

"I met someone a few days ago," he started. "I want school to be over with so I can see them."

Audrey did pause for a second, and her eyes raised to look over at Eishi curiously. "Is it someone special to you?"

He stared blankly at her, his expression clearly nonplussed. "No," he said. "He's just different," he leant in and lowered his voice so that only the two of them could hear. "I met him at the slums."

Audrey continued drawing by then, acting as if nothing had happened. "Why were you down there?" she asked, but Eishi could tell in the slight tremor of her wrist that she was a bit nervous about the idea that Eishi had gone down to the area at all.

"I was following Jake," Eishi said. "I don't know when he started, but he's been going down there lately, and apparently he's been using his fencing skills." But he was only stating this casually, as fencing skills were not necessarily good in combat. Jake on the other hand, had been training with the sword since he was 7, and probably found other ways to make use of the weapon.

She stopped questioning him then, and Eishi went back to drawing. It was as if the very conversation between the two had not happened as he focused on sketching the desk now and her form hunched over the desk in her blue blazer. The uniform was pretty conservatively made, with a skirt that hung low down to the knees, but the fabric and style was made particularly stylish as noble kids did seem to have an eye for fashion.

"The world can be a very cruel place," Audrey stated suddenly. "Don't spend too much time down there, because you will soon realize this firsthand."

It was just then that Eishi caught someone out of the corner of his eye looking at them. They had been standing in the doorway for that second, with a rather scary expression, before they walked off. "Who is that?" he hissed over to Audrey.

She didn't answer all that immediately, and in fact seemed to not have heard him for the moment.

"Audrey?"

"Their name is Charlen," she said. "New teacher in this school. But.."

Before she could continue, the school alarm rang, signalling that it was time to change classes. Eishi and Audrey stood up to gather the materials that she had set out beforehand, and Eishi helped her pack up.

"If he does anything weird to you, you know you can tell me, right?" Eishi wasn't stupid, and was pretty aware that the grownups could be rather creepy these days. Something from the man's expression wasn't just creepy, it was that and seemed to hold a bit of hostile intent as well.

Audrey gave Eishi a silent nod and they parted ways, with her words ringing in his head. He found himself thinking of Levi's words too, and wondered why he had been so drawn to the mystery behind this boy who seemed to be surrounded in a shroud of death.

 

* * *

 

 

He walked over the streets, kicking at some stones in the way and trying not to seem too eager to approach Sai's house. It wasn't a very close distance from the school, much less his own house, but it seemed that every trip he had made as a kid was worth it. Energy seemed to invigorate him, as much as it had when he felt like there was some purpose for him to strive for. But he couldn't deny the fact that he was nervous. He felt as bad as the kid in front of him currently being chased by two other boys, who were throwing stones in his direction. He couldn't have been older than 6, and seemed desperate for a place to hide. Eishi continued to approach him, walking as if there was no dispute to be had.

The kid ducked behind him, hiding from the boys and trembling nervously. He smiled over to them and waved without much of a word, then continued to walk on, feeling the stares on his frame as the boy just followed.

"What's your name, kid?" he asked the other quietly. It was pretty easy to intimidate other kids that were that young, but it also helped that he actually looked like a girl. Perhaps it confused the others for the moment, when they saw a noble guy dressed in fancy clothing, but he was pretty used to it. After all, Jake had spent years beating up other kids until everyone who knew him and their family had matured past the point of hair pulling, and hopping games. It had been weird at first, not to have people looking down on him for looking too girly.

The boy looked up at him curiously, seeming to stare at him a bit longer with wide eyes. Black hair framed emerald green eyes that swiveled towards the ground and they answered hesitantly. "Soliel," he said in a whisper. "Dad calls me Sol."

They walked down the road comfortably and Eishi sighed as he glanced upon the sun, and shielded his eyes. "Don't you have to stay home? You don't look like you go to school."

"I don't like school," the kid murmured.

"But you like walking out in this weather?"

"Yeah."

"What if it rains though?"

"It's still better than school."

"Fine, but what about home then? You can't really enjoy staying out in the rain." Eishi paused and quirked a brow. "But then again you are a kid. Hmm.."

"If I'm at home, I stay home," said Sol with a shrug. "But only if it's raining outside."

"So you're usually outside. What's the difference between school and being outside then?"

"I can run away from those jerks."

That ended the conversation right there, and Eishi found himself chuckling a bit.

Around that time, he arrived over at Sai's house, and pulled out a key that the doctor had given him. He turned to address the kid before he found that the other was missing. "Hey - " He glanced left and right quickly but the soft pitter patter of footsteps had disappeared inside the house. He let out a sigh, and closed the door behind him, before reaching into the huge sack that he had strapped to his shoulder to make sure that the materials he'd gotten from the royal library were still around.

The room that Levi stayed in looked a lot cleaner that morning. Eishi saw the kid walking around the hallways, but not doing anything more than just looking around. He shrugged, and entered Levi's room.

Levi stared over at him when he entered, still not looking in any better shape than the day before. Eishi had resolved to visit him as often as he could, so not much time had passed. After all, if he had rescued this person, he was going to make as much good use of it as he could. Not to mention, being around someone who didn't kiss your ass all the time was a good change of pace, because Jake was always being surrounded by people who looked up to him.

"Who is that?" Levi glared at the kid who now stood next to him. There was a smell of food, something delicious that Sai had no doubt cooked.

"It's your new roommate!" He said with a cheeky grin, before glancing back from the door. "Damn, I missed dinner. Ah well," He walked over to Levi and placed the huge sack of books in front of him. "Can you read?"

In response, Levi simply picked up one of the books and read it. There was a quiet pause before both his eyebrows shot up, and he opened the book surprisingly quickly, flipping through the pages with ease.

"His lover cried out with ecstasy, as his hands wandered up her legs beneath the expensive skirt she wore," he read in an unimpressed tone.

It was then that Eishi realized that there had been some mix-up in the dropped books from the hallway that morning. He blushed and grabbed the book out of the other's hand. "W-wrong one!" He stuttered, and stuffed it back to the very bottom of pile. "Uh.. try this one."

Levi looked over at that book, and opened the pages. "Her bosom had grown ample as his hands had it's way with it. Apparently, she had been trained -"

He broke off as Eishi snatched that book back as well. "Are you suggesting something?" he asked, barely seeming to hide the amusement in his voice.

Eishi reached into the pile deep inside, and finally pulled out what looked like a title that he was familiar with. "Okay, I swear, this one is tame."

Levi was about to read that one too, when Sol burst out into laughter from nearby. "Oh shit.." Eishi just realized that he had allowed a kid to listen in on that stuff. But Sol didn't seem to mind, and in fact stumbled back into a closet in the room, his shoulders trembling with mirth. A creak was made, and before Eishi could blink, the closet was on the verge of overturning and falling on the boy.

Surprisingly, Eishi wasn't the only one who ran forward to keep the boy from being crushed. The closet was big and square, and a bit old fashioned. The clothing inside it was probably what made it so heavy as he and Levi struggled to push it back with all their might. Thankfully, it did let up as they both focused their own weight on it.

With wide eyes, the boy scrambled away from the area, and went to sit in the corner. Levi just narrowed his gaze over to the boy. "If you're going to stay here you better not do that again."

"I won't," the boy looked over at Levi with what looked like puppy eyes.

Eishi just started laughing outright at that, and he gestured for the boy to come back closer to them. "Loosen up, you two. And I was only kidding about that. He has a home to go back to."

Levi was already back in the bed by the time they had collected themselves. He was still watching them from his position, not seeming to trust sleeping with people in the room, so Eishi decided to excuse himself and drag Soliel out with him. One look at him and Eishi could tell that he seemed to have somewhat of a headache, but he also didn't make eye contact or admit how exhausted or disoriented that heroic feat had made him.

"He needs to rest. I'll read to you out in the living room."

The living room was a plush carpeted area. It was usually pretty clean, as Sai had a personal maid drop by one day every week when he was too busy to do the housework himself. He did have a lot of patients, and seemed to prioritize care over presentation, leaving the area not to look as sterile as a doctor's office, but just passed well enough to show that he was a successful and warm professional.

He took a seat on one of the maroon colored couches, and pulled out the book that he had been about to hand Levi. "This stuff is from the Royal library, and this isn't for kids," he started in as serious a tone as he could muster, staring down at Soliel who was sitting on the floor, waiting to hear what he had to say. "But I'll tell you about it anyway. Just don't have any nightmares on me." He raised a hand and opened past the intro, to the first chapter.

"This is a collection of a series of imaginary works based on the few resources we could find on Titans. But first off, what are Titans? They appeared around 500 years ago and drove humanity to the brink of extinction. The living survivors of humans grew desperate, and erected 3 walls that kept the humans safe, until this very day. No one knows how the wall was created, but it is known lovingly by the human race as Wall Sina, Wall Rose, and Wall Maria. The monsters itself walk like humans, but they are giants, with often grotesque faces, and it is said that their only way to be killed is at the nape of their necks."

Eishi looked up from his book and looked over at Soliel. "Any questions?"

The boy shook his head, his eyes wide as he then continued to read. It was a set of horror stories, about people who did bad deeds, and were sometimes executed by being thrown out into the walls for titans. Or about this one curious human who one day decided to go out past the walls, to lovers who committed suicide together. Soliel seemed rather scared as each tale was given, and Eishi found himself thinking mischievously that it was a rather cute sight for a small guy like that. Kids these days still had bad sides, but they were not all that bad, he noted.

At some point they had dropped the book, and Soliel had decided to head into the room that Levi was sleeping in. Eishi would watch the kid, and was about to ask when he would return home, but dropped the question when he saw that Soliel was holding Levi's hand.

Levi was expressionless, but still looked rather feverish and would be tossing a bit on the bed to the point that Eishi felt the urge to look away, so he did.

When Sai returned home that night, Eishi told him what had happened. "You seem to be picking up strangers all the time," the good natured doctor told him.

Eishi shrugged. "I can't help it," he said. "It's like part of me knows that they aren't all that bad deep down."

Sai nodded, but he suddenly had a far off gaze as he glanced out the window. "If only all people and beings in this world had the same instincts."

That night, Eishi stayed over at the house yet again. It didn't occur to him that at some point, it would be time for his own family to worry about him, until it happened.


	4. Attack on Nobles

_In this world, nobles have a lot of power. It doesn't mean that they are invincible, but they are guaranteed a carefree life, happy to live with everyone wrapped around their fingers. They can do anything they want, and even get away with murder._

He was a busy person, and did not usually have time to spend with his family. Most of his activities ranged from studying overnight, trying to get the top scores in his class, to making sure that people around him viewed him as someone to be admired. Jake didn't do all of this with no goal in mind, because he was preparing to follow in his father's footsteps. He wanted to take over a company which was doing rather well at the moment, and then after that he would try to become a member of the Parliament. The last one could take a while, and so to take out his stress, he had at some point decided to put his long honed battle skills to use.

It didn't occur to him that killing in self defense was wrong, but when his brother confronted him about it, he realized that there was no way he could actually tell him.

_Brother dearest, my hands are stained in blood from the filth below us in the slums. But I'm sure you understand why it was necessary? Ugh.. No, who on earth thinks that is a good idea?_

So he lived the double life to his best, trying to forget who he was in one, and who he was in the other. It wasn't like nobles around him didn't start murder plots, when they wanted to keep the public opinion focused on them as good, and not as some bloodthirsty psychopaths, or someone who made a simple mistake such as, failed to kidnap someone and witnesses were left alive to be sources of blackmail. So he went along in his own special way, just perhaps at the ripe age of 18, and with more blood on his hands than any other noble put together.

And then on the night of his brother's birthday, he was told by one of the maids that they were staying elsewhere other than his home. He didn't think anything of it, at first, and allowed the oddity to happen every night after that. When Eishi came home, they headed straight for the showers and then to class, seeming as normal as they used to be, laughing, making jokes, and trying to start another conversation with him before class had to start. But then he heard a very odd rumor circulating the school. It was simply that Jake's brother wished to join the military.

_Wouldn't that be odd? I didn't think any of us would ever try something that dangerous._

_What's the use of fighting or doing servant's work? He can't be planning to go out there and die like food, can he?_

The whispers got to him, whether he would admit it or not. He decided one day, after class, to stop his brother before he left, for wherever he did when school ended.

Unfortunately, he had left too soon before he could catch him, and that was when Jake decided that he would follow the other instead, using the Military Police to point him in the right direction.

* * *

He stood in front of the officer in question, having located them in an area around the home mansion. It was not their shift to track Eishi today, and likely, another person had taken their place. This person didn't seem to care one way or another what happened and they simply just did what they could, namely watching over the every move of nobles, or playing some card game during their wide expanse of time offs. He marched over, and placed a hand on their shoulder, causing the guy's friends who had already been staring over at him to jump back. Jake had a rather intimidating presence. No one had forgotten the brat that he was back at age 6, right when he'd caused more trouble, bruises and pain for them. But more surprising was that a noble would usually take the time to address them. With the look on his face, the others probably thought that one of them was in trouble.

"I'm looking for my brother, Eishi," he said in a stern tone as he all but gripped the guy's shoulder sleeve and dragged him to a standing position. "Show me where he is."

The guy paused and gulped a bit. He glanced back at his companions who were nodding quickly in a way that suggested that they would assume that it was still some kind of order, before he looked back over at the brown haired noble. "It's not my shift yet. How would I know where to find him?"

He started to walk off, and he expected the guy to follow him, which they did, the soft shuffling of footsteps trailing behind him as they headed for the roads. "My guard doesn't know. You're one of the few tasked with keeping an eye on him. I'm sure you know where he usually goes right about now, and if you didn't then you wouldn't be doing your job."

Jake glanced back with a smirk, because he knew the guy could easily be fired if they refused by now. He always got things to go his way, and the guy seemed to concede as he realized the futility of it all when talking to someone who was very close to his superior. "It's not part of my job description," he grumbled. "But it's this way."

They walked down the path, and Jake wasn't all that surprised that it took awhile. The houses were rather familiar, and more in a district that was less rich, perhaps an area that could be attacked by titans rather easily before it reached the area in which the more wealthier class lived. They were not identical, as the structure of this area allowed differences in the houses, some structures more square and others with triangle shingles supported on the top. The path was vaguely familiar to him, and it didn't take long before he realized where they were headed. He raised a hand and tapped the guy on the shoulder.

"You're free to go now," he said, authority that seemed way past his years in his stance and his expression. As a noble kid, some of them had the privilege of behaving past the current years, and he was technically considered an adult by the age of 18 anyway.

He glanced behind him, to see that his guard was hiding somewhere near some trees, and would probably continue to follow him all the way, whereas Eishi's guard simply shrugged and headed back. There was no point in questioning the mysterious actions of someone who could have you fired before they batted an eyelash.

Jake simply turned back, a disgusted look on his face. It was in a way, as if they knew everything that he was about to do and had done, and probably told stories about it to their friends, one of the other reasons he was driven to peruse the slums, simply to be in territory where they would leave him alone.

He walked the rest of the way to Sai's house, as Eishi used to bring him here whenever he got hurt, before he started using the nurse rooms and the much more convenient nearby hospital like everyone else. He raised a hand, and then rung the doorbell after walking up the neat chalk orange brick staircases. Nobody answered, and it seemed that Sai had been away from the house, as doctors did have rather busy schedules. He was going to leave, but remembered that he had not wasted his time heading this way for no reason, and placed his hand on the doorknob.

Sai's door was unlocked, much to his surprise and he entered the room, noticing that not much had changed since the last time he saw it. Walls and chairs were ridiculously full in color, in a manner that made him feel as if he had stumbled upon a huge edge of some rainbow. There was normal furniture of course, but Jake could not really say much for whoever had chosen to design the background in whatever way they did. He walked past the overly plush carpet, and looked in some of the rooms, avoiding the personal room of Sai and looking for the kitchen next. The attic was empty, as was the bathroom, and even the music room in the house was unusually pristine. His last guess for where his brother could have been was the guest room. Walking over to it, he pushed open the door, to be met with exactly who he was looking for.

Eishi was slumped in a chair, with his face buried in a book, and there was someone unfamiliar who was sat up in the bed, with a bandage over what looked like an area that had been wounded, sitting pressed up against the wall, as he looked as if he had no clue what to do.

They looked over at him, seeming to size him up with sharp eyes, and Jake stared. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?!"

Levi stared back with an equally displeased look, but before he could respond, a shifting movement at the bedside caught both their attention, a tired mumble, slur of words as Jake suddenly noticed that there was an empty beer can on the floor. "Ow, my head.. what's going on? Someone turn that rooster off."

Levi was one of the criminals in a slum that Jake had spotted back when he was down there. He was well known as he and his companions were pretty good at killing, beating up others, and even knew about torture techniques. They didn't know each other personally, but Jake simply knew that when running around that street, that it was best not to make any close acquaintances, especially people who would recognize who he was. Still, for his brother to meet someone in the slums must have meant that it had something to do with his own activities, as well as that the idiot could have been in some sort of danger the entire time that he had been away from home.

Seeing red, he simply reached over and dragged off his brother, ignoring whatever protest the other gave. The door was shut on Sai's house loudly as they would be headed away from there and headed to anywhere, but mostly as far away from this mysterious Levi as they could be.

* * *

It wasn't long after school had ended, but the time seemed to blur on as he walked, and Eishi had grown to following the other silently, and Jake had no problems leading. Thoughts raced through his mind to where he could possibly bring his brother to, because they surely needed to be in a very serious discussion. They entered the school, which was open still for clubs that had after school activities, and eventually they headed to a room, wide with space enough for a football field, and an opening to the school gardens, which seemed to let air breeze in rather comfortingly. It gave good shade from the sun while lighting up the area were torches covered with glass.

He would disappear into a room for a second, and Eishi would wait outside, before he grabbed what he was looking for and tossed it at the other. A sword.

"Get ready," he said, and got into a pose, before launching himself at the other, and swinging.

Clashing sounds of the two metallic weaponry echoed across the room as his brother was forced to defend himself. It was not class day, but this was the only class they shared together, and perhaps it was more relaxing than he would like to think. As he lost himself in the blur of striking and just letting metal meet metal, narrowly missing flesh, he started to speak, stepping back and pointing his sword to the other.

"I will decide if you are fit for the military," he said finally. "Someone who can't fight me and win won't do anything but die out there."

It was then that the other started to react. They jumped forward and it was the first time that they would seem to really mean it. The motions in which they struck was full of sincerity, causing his body to skid back lightly after a particularly violent hit.

He smirked, and now it was time for the counterattack, before his pose drastically changed and he went out all on freestyle, his blows soaring at the rate of someone with more strength than his shallow-like frame seemed to suggest. He ran forward, hitting quickly with enough strength to shatter vases upon impact, and seemed to imagine that there were such targets ahead of him. His brother's body was no longer human, just obstacles in his way as he aimed, faked for one side and then slashed towards the bottom.

Surprisingly, the countering sword was stabbed upon the ground, on a patch of grass that ended from the slab floor to an area that extended into the courtyard opening. They had fought towards in that direction and the other had been pushed so far that they were now all the way on the other side of the room.

"Tell me," he said, breathing a little heavy, but still with about as much composure as he usually had. "What made you decide on such a foolish field to enlist into?" He raised his sword and pointed it over to the other's neck.

Purple eyes staring back at him shook slightly, as they huffed a bit and tried to respond. "To get stronger, brother. That's why," they said. "Ever since I was a kid, you've always looked after me. If I pass training there then it won't be needed."

It did not occur to Jake at that moment that the reason had something to do with him. He lowered his sword for the moment, allowing the other to retrieve the one that had been stuck into the grassy area of the dueling field.

"If you want to get stronger, then all you had to do was ask me," he said. "If you wanted to be stronger than me, I could have showed you. We fight here together all the time, when have I ever held back on you?"

His turn to defend came when his brother's sword lashed out towards his neck, and he had to jump back as rains of hits landed upon him. "Do you think this class is enough?! I.. I'm not like you anymore. I'm not even a real noble, and to hell with it. Even you know this better than I do. Or did you not just break a very important rule in the book by running at me and aiming for my legs? Out there it's not going to be so easy."

He was beginning to see the results of his training instruction beginning to be put into work from his brother, but couldn't help and feel highly insulted at that comment.  _So I'm not good enough for you?_

"That's not your only motive. I caught you trying to whore yourself out in front of this slum rat. Don't give me that innocent act! I thought you had better class than that. Or are you trying to throw away everything father gave to you by joining the recon corps like some cattle kneeling before they are eaten up like the rest of the poor out there? You could die like this with all the shame you could bestow upon us if anyone finds out!"

Apparently, that had struck a nerve, as the next blow knocked the sword out of his hand with the force of it and he was punched in the face. He didn't really give up either, mostly out of pettiness as they swung at each other, fists flying and attempting to bruise the hell out of one another. Around the time that Eishi had him in a chokehold, and he was attempting to bust the other's kneecap was when things went even more downhill.

It happened quickly, but perhaps when they both saw what it was, there was no arguing that in a second, everything could have been destroyed.

Audrey ran past them, the sound of her footsteps finally clear, before she simply just lost it and screamed. Of course, the two of them stopped fighting when they saw the state she was in, dripping blood and shaking like a leaf. In fact, they had never seen so much blood in their life, and didn't fail to notice that her hand was missing. She had fallen to her knees, as if the presence of her best friend was the only thing that kept her from continuing to bolt, but didn't seem to be any better, even when Eishi seemed rather worried.

"What happened to you?!" he cried out. "Who did this to you? Was it..?"

"Everything's over.. everything is going to end.. I'm going to die and …" she trailed off, tears streaming down her face, and refused to answer anything that his brother asked.

Jake turned around, and that was when he saw it.

His blood froze, or rather everything around him seemed to slow down in that very second. Of course, what could really strike fear into his heart like this but a titan? He'd never seen one before, but a finger was dangling from it's mouth before it dropped to the floor, as simply as if it were a dog who had been playing catch.

_How is this possible? Has the walls collapsed? No, it couldn't be, they said that nothing would get past Wall Rose, and if something's happened then Wall Maria should have gone down first._

But there it was, standing like a nightmare as it suddenly ran over to him with inhuman speed, raising a hand and swiping over at his body. He only had time to react before he flew into a wall, the force likely causing some of his ribs to crack as he hit it. And that was when he was picked up. He didn't know why, but there was a sword in his hand, simply because he had reached for it at the last moment as if clinging to some sort of lifeline, but his grip trembled as the mouth opened, and then something in him seemed to shatter at that moment.

He raised his sword and began carving at the monster's face with slashes, furiously as if he was clawing out it's upper lip. The other continued to try and bite him but he kicked and cursed at it as if he knew that once those jaws clamped down upon his body that it would be the end of it all.

_How dare it.. How dare this monster show up NOW?!_

He was beginning to lose his strength as the grip of the monster's hand suddenly enclosed on him, putting a lot of pressure over his form, and his sword ended up battling with those fingers.

"The nape of it's neck.. Get the nape of it's neck!" Eishi's voice cried out distantly, but he didn't listen and couldn't hear anything. He was only dropped after an eternity, but by then he had fallen to the ground, unconscious.

_They are going to get everything.. It's over._

* * *

_A/n: TBC. Stay tuned for chapter five._


	5. Prisoner Status

It was a scene of some nightmare, as he watched helplessly as his brother was picked up and about to be eaten. Eishi was frozen to the spot for a moment, unable to think of what to do, but seeing it brought a sense of hopelessness to him. He felt the oppressive air of the first time that a beast had him at it's complete mercy, and while he had read this so many times before, he was still unable to move his legs. That is when Jake cried out and lashed back, spurring him into some sort of action. It was as if he was reminded that they were no longer objects, held in a hand like some hopeless toys before their heads popped off, and that the very reason that he sought to become a soldier was to help protect his family. It wasn't just his brother that was going to be dead in a second, it was the person who protected him since he was young, without fail and over and over again. To see this happen to that person, no matter how bad they were, was enough to make him move forward.

He ran and struck at the titan's leg with his own sword, trying to find a way to distract them before they could finish the deed. "The nape of it's neck. Get the nape of it's neck!" he cried out, and he launched forward to try that. He discovered that even at it's height, and it wasn't actually the biggest giant from what he'd heard of, he still missed. The only hope was for Jake to get free and then they would run off and get help, and to do that they needed to be out of it's grasp.

Surprisingly, the second stab was dodged unusually quickly, and the titan jumped back, only to look over at Eishi. He raised his sword, just as Jake was dropped from it's grip, landing unconscious upon the ground, looking as if one of his arms had been snapped awkwardly from the crushing grip.

"What are you doing?!" A voice cried out from nearby. "Get them, they are right in your grasp so finish them off already!"

Eishi looked for the sound of the voice, but he couldn't spot the person who was hiding around.  _Wait a minute, is that a human talking to that thing?_

He looked back at the titan, and for a second, something in them made him pause, the way they were standing as if they were some sort of cornered animal. But then a huge animalistic roar emerged from the form, causing wind to be blown out, and Eishi had to cover his ears as his body was almost lifted back by the force of it.

The cries continued on and on, but they didn't stop, until the titan had simply picked up Jake's fallen blade on the floor and stabbed himself. Blood rained from above, showering him endlessly, and for a second, he thought that maybe it would be acid. It was warm, but that was far from it.

He realized at some point that he was still able to see, but wished immediately that he hadn't looked.

On the floor, lying in a fading titan's corpse was Soliel. The sword that he had grabbed from Jake on the floor was now back in it's respectful lying spot, near it's owner as it had dropped out of the titan shifter's hands once he had stabbed himself into the nape of the neck with it, apparently slicing through to his real form. He was in the same outfit that he had when Eishi had walked him home that night, perhaps another color of red, as if someone had dressed him up for battle or some sickeningly twisted festive reason, and thankfully his eyes were closed, the same deep green that the other would not be able to look at anymore.

He fell to his knees, unable to believe the sight before him, his hands trembling as he just stopped thinking for the moment. There was an odd wave of pain that washed over him, seeming to sink into his form like the bloodstains all around. His eyes were simply glued to the person in front of him, at the fragile body that looked as if it was sleeping. He could not have dragged himself and his brother out of this mess, because by the time that he started realizing where he was, someone had already rang a bell, sounding some kind of alarm throughout the school. Someone else was frantically explaining to some teachers that someone had murdered a kid until his disbelief faded into despair.

This was how the Military Police found them, no one able to move, with a dead person in a pool of blood, and no trace of who the real murderer was, but of course, he knew the truth.

 _So, this is what killing someone feels like,_  he thought as he looked into apathetic expressions with guns raised in their direction.

* * *

He had nothing to say to his parents, and his brother was already talking to them.  Jake had hardly spoken a word about it, but he was clearly grim from the icy expression since that morning. He had been treated with some kind of bandage, and an arm cask for the moment, because while they were now branded as criminals, their lineage still allowed them some type of leeway. The military police didn't seem to care one way or another, though a few of them seemed surprised at what had happened. So he told one of the guys there, a friendly one who had watched over him for a long time that he wanted to speak to one particular person who currently resided in Sai's house. He was going to talk to Sai too, but he figured that he would give Levi a heads up before he was gone, possibly forever. 

The officer that had followed him over stated in a gruff voice, after knocking on the door and greeting the doctor. "This kid asked me to let him have a few words with someone."

Eishi would smile at him, though he didn't actually seem happy or warm either. Inside, he was actually scared of what would happen. "Thanks again, Stan," he said to the other. "I really owe you one now."

Stan looked down at the kid from his helmet, his mustache twitching but downwards as he grimaced. "Don't let those be your last words, kid." He actually looked as if he were in his late twenties, but had never been promoted because he didn't behave like most of his other comrades in arms, who were always involved in card games and illegal activities. Eishi had easily found that he could relate.

Sai looked over to Stan, and then to Eishi before they both headed to the couch nearby to discuss the situation. "What's going on? I must say I've never spoken with one of your officers before."

"There's another noble family pressing charges against us," he said to the other. "They say I've murdered their son, and so we are going to have a court hearing on the issue. I may not come back from this, so I thought I'd say goodbye."

He must have looked like he was about to cry, because Sai simply hugged him when he had finished speaking. He felt the tremors rise from his frame again and didn't move for a second, his grip clenched tight into fists as he tried to calm himself down, before he slowly raised his arms and hugged back, leaning onto the other's shoulder. "Is Levi all right?" he asked after a while.

Sai drew back and nodded, not questioning him on the matter, as Eishi had expected. "He is in the guest room as usual. Today is his last day here, as he has recovered sooner than I expected."

Eishi couldn't find the words to express his gratitude, but as he turned over to the doorway to enter, he found that the other was already standing there, watching them with his arms crossed.

The doctor was cheerful, despite the situation. "I didn't expect him to break the news to you like this," he said calmly.

"I wasn't expecting to hear anything," Levi countered, and his gaze turned over to Eishi. "Why are you here?"

Eishi paused and opened his mouth to say something, before he ducked his head. "I wanted to let you know that Soliel's dead," he said in a soft whisper.

There was of course, a long silence when Levi took that in. Eishi looked up to see that the other seemed slightly shocked, but he had already reached over his pocket, and pulled out a dirty rag. It was a piece of Soliel's clothing, that he had sliced off of the other at some point. "I'm sorry," he said, holding it out to him as if it were proof.

Surprisingly, Levi reached over carefully and picked up the cloth before pocketing it after folding it carefully. "You don't have to explain," he said. "That kid seemed to be asking for trouble and he wasn't careful."

He smiled at the bittersweet taste of the entire situation. "No, he wasn't."

Levi then glanced over at the Military Police and his look darkened, but he did raise his hand in a wave to Eishi before walking off, cloak and everything with his confiscated gear hidden as well as his face.

* * *

The courtroom was full of grim faces, serious expressions watching their every move. Eishi stood next to Jake, feeling for once, the impact of the situation. His representative had been unable to get the family to drop the charges, but he would have felt a lot better if Charlen hadn't been Soliel's father. The man was not staring at any of them this time, but he seemed to be in a worse mood than before, judging by the way he handled some of the servants that had accompanied him over. When he caught Eishi looking at him, that was his cue to look away, pretty sure that whatever he saw there would be the same. But this time, he would note that the man also had green eyes.

With a bang of the mallet, the meeting started, and the judge looked down at the two kids as he asked a few questions.

First, he looked to Jake.

"I'm sure you boys are aware of the situation you are in, so lets hear your explanations."

Jake would seem to pale up a bit, and his throat seemed to clench up just slightly before he answered. "I thought I had seen a titan," he said finally.

Murmurs of disbelief rose from the crowd as people seemed to express their discontent with him from around. A pastor of one of the wall groups simply stood up from his seat and cried out.

"That is hearsay. Nothing can get past the great walls that protect us. And you are saying that something, much less a titan has?!"

The representative for Charlen simply smirked, as he cleared his throat. "I would like to point out, your honor, that this man has been known for bullying other kids since the age of 7, and regularly visits the slums district at night."

Eishi found that he was getting upset as he listened to all their secrets being thrown out into the air, and was about to speak, when more was spoken on the conversation, as their representative seemed to notice that Eishi was about to speak out of turn.

"While it is true that he was quite the delinquent, there was a drastic turn around the age of 12. Jake has then started to excel in his studies, and it was known by some of the classmates that he did not just make efforts to be on friendly terms with others, but protected them as well."

That turned the tide later, but there was still some sort of confusion. Generally, the crowd had died down to listen to what the judge had to say on this matter. He looked over at Eishi.

"We are here to determine the fate of the both of you. This is actually a very unusual situation you two are in, but the first decision is either to send you both to jail for life, or, to immediately employ you to the Recon Corps."

Eishi and Jake stared at the judge, their gazes widened in disbelief.

Their representative ended up speaking again. "We have received the offer on a short notice, after some evidence that they discovered. Apparently, there were faint imprints of giant footsteps on the blood, suggesting that the three of them have encountered a titan. And for them to survive, it makes them eligible to receive military training, specifically so that they will then be transferred to the field. Also, it is quite easy to note that both these men are actually quite adept in combat compared to their classmates, according to testimony by some of their instructors."

And true enough, their fencing instructor stood in the audience. "It is true," he said, in a somewhat strained tone. He seemed nervous to be in front of an audience at the moment, and his gaze seemed to dart towards the military police. "Jake is my best student."

The other representative for Charlen started to speak up in an offended tone. "Your honor, there is no way for it to be a good idea to send two criminals suspected of killing a human out there."

"Blasphemy!" Said the man from the wall. "Only the great walls erected by the goddess can protect us. No unholy beast can pass - "

With the rapid lowering of a mallet, the man was silenced as the Judge cast a steely gaze upon him. He looked over at Eishi just then.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" he asked.

All eyes were on him, and he simply felt the glares around the room as if the very decision rested from what he explained. Even Jake seemed to want to nudge him to say the right thing, as he silently mouthed the words 'tell the truth'.

He simply looked to the judge and said. "Nothing, your honor. I cannot excuse what I have done, and will take whatever punishment is given to me."

The judge looked over at him for a long while, and then sighed. "They will spend the night in a jail cell, but the evidence of a possible rogue titan cannot be overlooked. With advanced supervision from a member of the Recon Corps, they are to be trained and then sent there immediately. If at any point the supervisor reports that their skills are inadequate, they will be sent to jail without bail for life."

* * *

Both of them sat together in the corner of the jail cell. They had been sent to a room that was separate from the actual jail cell where the other criminals would gather. Eishi suspected that it was his father's doing that kept them from any actual harm for the moment, because it didn't really seem as if they were truly serving a punishment just yet. This was only true for him, however, because Jake on the other hand didn't seem one bit enthused, and treated the situation as if he had been given a death sentence.

There was a knock upon the metal gate, and Eishi looked up to see one of the officers over there. Audrey was standing behind it, her missing hand wrapped up in bandages as well. Eishi was beginning to think that he was getting too used to seeing tragedy, even for the standards of an adopted kid.

She walked over to them, and nodded over to the guard with a smile, before he left to give them some private moment.

"I wanted to submit my testimony to the court," she said. "But I couldn't."

Eishi simply shook his head. "You were passed out, and I'm pretty sure you told them what you could have." He looked over to Audrey and placed a hand on her shoulder. "How are you healing?"

She glanced down at his hand, and then looked to the floor. "I am fine for now," she said. "But I have decided not to divulge my reasons for defending you. I told them I saw the titan, but that wasn't the one who tried to murder me."

He grimaced, as he was pretty sure by now what had happened. "Charlen," he said finally. "You're going to go after him?"

Audrey wouldn't say anything for that moment, and her own string of silence seemed to filter to the room. "I have to get us out of this mess," she said after biting her lip. "But if I try now then I'm sure it will be all over for us. I will graduate soon, and after I become a detective, I will be able to officially investigate. Until then, you two will have to do whatever can be done."

It was then that Jake spoke up. "What can be done?" he asked hollowly. "We were faced with a titan and we couldn't do a thing." He seemed somewhat shaken, and Eishi heard something watery beneath his voice, as if it were on the verge of breaking.

He reached out and placed a hand on Jake's shoulder, before saying in as calm a voice he could manage. "We'll be fine Jake. You have to believe me this time."

"I don't know what to believe right now," Jake responded, but he didn't look at his brother. "I know that logic is on our side, but I still feel like I'm going insane."

His grip tightened over the other lightly, squeezing in a reassuring but firm manner. "Don't believe anything," he said simply. "Who knows what could have happened? But for me, I've actually thought a great deal about this. So I'll get the both of us through it."

They didn't relax just yet, but Eishi had been rather certain for that moment and had made up his mind on what to do.  _This time, I'll protect you. Brother._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is nearing it's end, I think. In perhaps one or two more chapters.


	6. ...

Training turned out to help others with practical things, without giving either of them experience that Eishi had faced back when they were up against a real titan. But what it did right was to teach him how to use the 3d maneuver gear. He'd recognized it the moment that he saw it, and since then he would think of Levi, wondering what he was up to down in the slums. He probably had a good idea of how he acquired the gear illegally, as he was pretty well aware of the corruption in the military police, thanks to listening to Stan complain about it. He'd spoken to Eishi back then about how he was better off in the Recon Corps. It was how he grew up to foster this idea that true honorable fighting pitted someone up against true danger. While under his brother's protection, he ended up realizing that fighting was something that he inherently desired. It built up until this very day, but instead of anger, it was simply a way to prove that he could protect what he desired to keep safe.

Days passed and he noticed that Jake seemed to be warming up to the idea of going out there to fight creatures that were three times as tall as they were, but deep down inside, he wondered if there was another reason that he decided to go along with the sentence.  _Do you really like to kill that much?_

He'd never spoken it out loud to the other, but he figured that if he did direct his anger at titans, then it would be for the better.

Before he knew it, the graduation ceremony happened. He showed up to witness the recruiters speaking, and saw firsthand the power that was Erwin Smith. This person, the leader of the recon corps was rumored to be responsible for every success that has been had so far, such as discovering the only weaknesses of the titans and verifying it. New research had given others hope, and it did help that the newer members of the project seemed to be more experienced at exactly what they were doing. All this gave him the feeling that humanity itself could survive, and that what he wanted to keep safe would remain so.

"Have you ever seen a titan up close?" Erwin asked the military students who were deciding on whether to become a military police or otherwise. "The recon corps has the job of handling them, and while it is true that many casualties exist in our force, it is all for the progress of humanity so that they may one day rise from the walls. We have just started to be successful in this. With the help of aspiring new members, we have made some progress in studying titans, as well as figuring out ways to avoid casualties when travelling abroad. In joining this group, you will be placing yourself in great danger, but also you will stand for hope. A lot of people will tell you that the hope is limited, and they could be right. But if they could be wrong, then there is a lot more to gain from it. For instance, have you ever wondered what would happen if the walls were to fall this day? Theoretically speaking of course, we as humans would we wiped out from the face of the planet, as if we never existed. That is why the recon corps exists. I started this group because I want the memory of humanity to prevail so that future generations can continue, but that is not the only thing. We have a goal in ensuring that the titans are no longer a threat to us, period. If you want to see for yourself what you could lose, then join the recon corps, because you might end up discovering how much there is to save."

He glanced to the side, and witnessed some of the people listening to Erwin. There was a blonde haired girl who seemed to be smiling particularly at Erwin's speech, and determination shone in her gaze, with some other faces of people who looked mildly serious or even amused.

No one spoke out of place when Erwin addressed the group, as his status was still of that to be respected, not simply for his position but also his charisma.

And then he saw them, spotted out in the crowd, standing off to the side and looking as if they would rather be elsewhere. Levi was standing next to Isabel, and looked to be listening to something that a blonde haired boy was saying next to him. When he caught Eishi's gaze, their eyes met for a second. The other showed no recognition of him, but his gaze lingered on him, matching as if to acknowledge that they had seen him before he returned to look over at Farland, and then over to Erwin.

He decided then and there that he would wait until after the meeting was over before approaching them. There were graduates in the crowd already asking a few questions, trying to weigh in their mind whether they wanted to join, and he knew from this that the meeting was nearing it's end.

"Yes?" Erwin directed his gaze over to the blonde girl.

"How likely is it that you can successfully kill titans if you were to join the recon corps?" She asked.

The commander looked over to the girl and smiled as he seemed to take note of the way she seemed eager. "A lot of that depends on luck," he said to her. "But if you survive enough times, then it is very likely that you will be able to face the next one without problems."

Everyone fell silent after that, and filed out of the area, as the briefing had been done and they were given time to think on the matter. Eishi thought that the way Erwin made it sound was pretty good, and began to feel more hype on the issue than he did before, until he heard what Levi said.

"It's easy enough to boast about progress, and the skills of the recon corps. But when it comes to the reality of it, most of us will die."

"Don't say that! There's no way we can possibly go down if they went through all that trouble to recruit us," Isabel piped up. "We'll get through this job for sure, right Farland?"

The blonde haired boy smirked over at the considerably grumpy man. "That isn't like you, Levi. Are you worried for the death count?"

He simply closed his eyes and let out a sigh in response. "His nice guy attitude is seriously misleading," he simply stated, and then darted his gaze over at Eishi who was eavesdropping. "Are you just going to stand over there like that?"

It was then that he realized that all the people had left the meeting, and he was practically alone with the three of them in the ceremonial area. He chuckled, raising a hand to hold the back of his head as he walked over.

"I just didn't think I would see you again," he said to Levi, and then looked over to Isabel. "How is he doing? Keeping out of injuries and hospital bills?"

Isabel grimaced. "Don't get smart on us. That was only a one time thing."

Farland had to agree with that. "We can't really afford to survive on professional treatment."

"I know, I know," he stated in an easygoing manner. "But I really don't understand how you guys decided to join the recon corps."

"I could say the same for you," Levi responded. "I didn't picture you as the fighting type."

Eishi made a face and leant back in the air as he let out a sigh. It occurred to him that he could discuss to Levi what had happened, but he didn't want to reveal what had happened in front of the other two. Besides that, he figured that they would have already guessed, granted that Levi would have told them. But what was done was done in the past, and as long as he had earned the right to fight, then he wasn't going to question it. "No one does until it's too late, but to be honest, I've just graduated from training myself."

"You're just in time to fight with us then," Isabel stated, adopting her own relaxed pose with elbows out in the air behind her neck.

Eishi looked at them and gaped. "Really?" he asked, sounding disbelieving for a moment.

Farland nodded. "We're heading over there directly, and bypassed the training. And from what I've seen from some of the classes in that area, it looks like I could help them out a bit."

He started to grin slowly, before turning away to hide the mischievous look over his expression. It was exciting to think that he would be able to show his friends someone like Levi. "Sounds like a party then! I'll look for you in our first mission tomorrow."

Isabel rolled her eyes. "You better not hold us back," she warned.

"The new enrollees have not even started their first mission yet," Levi said, his eyes narrowed over to the grinning one. "How do you even know what will happen?"

"People talk," Eishi said. "It's the usual deal when you start actually. They send you out pretty soon when a mission objective is available."

He was interrupted by a friend of his by then who had been looking for him around the ceremony area, informing him of the curfew time. Eishi abided by all the rules of his training without fail, so he promptly bid goodbye to the three and left for the night.

* * *

They were staying nearby the room of the three that Eishi had seen that one fateful day at the graduating ceremony. He was bunked with his brother, and it was a first come first serve basis on how the rooms were alotted. At this time in the night, Jake was still awake, poring over letters that Audrey had written. It was unusually easy to think that his brother was just innocent with such a worried and concerned expression on his face. He lay down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as he tried to count the spots and dots that he saw there, but every now and then he would turn to glance at the other. The movement of paper was pretty faint, a small pen knife being used to cut open the contents, as one was pulled out after another. Audrey was not a huge talker. So far, Eishi figured that her letters actually sounded like military reports. She informed them about their mother and father and the state of the nobles.

_A huge uproar at the south corridor of this building. Two students fistfought over your names, one insisting that you deserved what had happened. Your mother and father are distraught with worry. Lots of tissues were purchased on the day of your enrollment. The room you guys are in has been preserved and cleaned daily for your return. Officials show up at your father's doorstep all day. Almost all of them seem to have developed greying hair. Charlen has convinced people at the Walls to bless your family. Be careful if he gets involved too deeply._

This was how the first letter sounded, to which Jake kept at the table. Other people in the bunk space left them alone, and did not ask questions when the table was delivered that day, but only because everyone in the area left them alone when it came to money matters. It was easy to see why Jake could afford a desk in this room, whether he needed it or not. There was a lock in the drawer and he was the only one who had the key to it. He probably kept his diary in there too, seeing as it was only one of the few resources in which they could keep private things in.

"So, what is she talking about now?" he asked his brother, finally just keeping his gaze point blank in his direction.

"The amount of love letters that have been spotted being written to us," he said. "And details of every person spotted writing it. She has a keen eye on detail, as usual."

He nearly fell out of his bed at that. It was around that time when people thought of love matters, things that seemed so far away now that they were going to be soldiers fighting titans. Still, it wasn't hard to notice the blush on his face, as he wondered exactly where those letters had gone. It wasn't out of the ordinary to receive them because, naturally, good looking and rich guys would have at least a handful of admirers. The problem came when you were suddenly enlisted (forcefully) into the recon corps, a division of the army where even a peasant can turn down their nose upon you. So likely, those letters would never be sent.

In the moment of awkwardness that suddenly resided over them, and it seemed that Jake was not going to describe the contents of the letter, anyway, he simply glanced over to the doorway. "It's a pretty nice sort of luxury we have here," he stated. "Do you think you're ready to go out there again? This could be our last day any day now."

A loud slam of the drawer signalled the ending of the reading, and Jake screeched back from his chair, before standing. "I thought so too," he said. "But I think there is a way that we can heighten our chance for survival."

This statement caused him to look back at his brother, who was now pacing back and forth from one end of the room to another. "A lot of it will require the proper skills, but I think we should form a strategy as well. Death comes in the form usually of aberrants. A lot of the titans seem to have varying differences, based on what we saw from one of our fellow soldiers' sacrifices. This lead me to thinking that some of them will actually behave unpredictably as a similar way of humans. If you pictured then, one of us being rather tall and giant, then you can figure that what they are doing is like a form of punching when they reach out and grab at us, and the way that they are attacking us from behind is like swiping at a fly buzzing around their head."

The pacing finally stopped, leaving Eishi smirking as he watched his brother. "Just let me in on the fun already."

* * *

*Levi's POV*

I was standing down the hallway at some point, but before I knew it, I was back at that same point, staring at the sky. We've seen it a lot down in the gutters, surrounded by filth, concrete floors which were unsanitized due to the years in which gutter rats like us would be forced to live in. I could understand a little bit, while sitting on the rooftops, with the stars almost within my reach, why Farland preferred to stay out of trouble. At first, I thought it was a pretty shitty deal. I was a bit hotheaded at that time, having heard of that Erwin this and Erwin that from all the other students, and it was getting to me. I was pretty used to getting my way with my skills, so having someone beat my face into the water, and then threatening to kill my friends while making me work for him kind of stabbed me right where it hurt when it came to honor.

I started getting used to it, and held in my urges. It was pretty easy, because nobody seemed to be able to tell the difference. I just thought that I'd trust Farland and everything seemed a little more easier to get through.

The stars looked more far off tonight than usual, but that was the last thing on my mind. Someone had been watching me. I couldn't tell who it was, but this person was pretty good at hiding themselves. I don't think any of the people down in the slums could follow me this far and that was as far as my social life went region wise. As for the military police? Well, they really didn't show up in this area. Unless some of them grew a spine and practiced a lot, I don't think they could pull off whatever this person was doing right now, and that was somehow evading my senses while stalking me.

I heard the footsteps walk up, more certain, slightly hesitant as if there was something they were guilty of. I smirked to myself and reached to my side.

Just as a hand was placed on my shoulder, I had a dagger pointed straight at their neck. I narrowed my eyes into slits as I saw who it was. "You. What do you want?"

Eishi's brother Jake, stood over there, looking a bit shocked at my speed and I felt a bit smug as I saw his face pale as if he'd seen some sort of unusually gruesome looking titan. This guy naturally had the demeanor and look as if he would turn up his nose at everyone around him. It was just a bit funny to see him unsure of himself, not that I was really one to complain about it.

We haven't spoken a word to each other since we were there, but I did notice that he refused to say anything. I hardly saw him much, it was as brief as a once a month occasion and I hoped to keep it that way.

He pursed his lips, the noble brat looking as if he had been insulted. Well no shit, if you're going to creep up on me and I don't know you, you're not going to get the best of welcomes.

"I came here to apologize," he started.

I raised an eyebrow. "For what? Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment but we're pretty much strangers."

He just looked at me for a long while, as if he were thinking of what to say. "For underestimating you and thinking that you were just someone who belonged in the gutter. I didn't mean to tell you this, but since we're going to be working together tomorrow, I figured I'd get it out of the way."

I didn't know whether to be insulted or amused, so I just didn't say anything. We stared at each other like that, locked in a match of some sort. At some point I figured that he was actually not trying to look down on me, and I turned away, looking back at the stars.

Footsteps signalled that he was walking off, and I went back to sitting on the roof.


	7. Aberrant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7: Aberrant
> 
> Unexpectedly, Levi started speaking up. "You knew this would happen," he accused, his eyes narrowed at the other. "We were forced into this from the beginning."
> 
> "Inevitably, this will happen to more than just them," Erwin stated. The situation could not simply be handled delicately with this boy. "Sacrifices have to be made -"
> 
> "Bullshit." It was spat out quietly but the venom did not leave the boy's tone. "We could have escaped prison. This is different."

When he showed up at the site, he was surprised to see that the outside lands looked surprisingly normal. It resembled a bit of the area inside the world, but he had never thought the feeling would be as if he were right at home. It was going to be their first mission, and Eishi glanced around, unable to help but think that the groups being sent out were a bit small. Levi was partnered with Isabel and Farland, and he with his brother and a blonde haired girl named Petra. He noticed that she kept looking in Levi's direction, and seeming to have a curious frown upon her expression, but didn't really comment on it. Since she had joined the recon corps, Petra had become his friend in a way, even though he mostly kept his distance due to the many different views that nobles had with commoners. Sure, he had some understanding friends, but it wasn't at all as it had been when they were in training.

"Are you nervous?" He asked in a low whisper to the other.

She paused, and glanced at him. "Eh?"

He tried to do his best not to roll his eyes and gesture towards the man she had been staring at, as if she was trying to solve some kind of puzzle. In the short time here, everyone had heard of Levi, and there were already rumors that he would rise to the top of his rank in no time. "You seem a bit distracted," he said.

Petra paused, and then beamed. "A bit," she said, but to him it sounded and looked as if it were some sort of excuse.

It wasn't long before the director ordered the first expedition to begin, and in fact it interrupted Eishi's conversation, as Jake seemed intent on pointedly ignoring them during the entire time that it happened. He knew his brother was used to socializing, but his mouth was pressed into a thin line this time, gazing over into the horizon, as if waiting to spot the titans as they all stood in front of the huge gate that had been exited not so long ago.

They rode off towards the plains in the formation that had been taught during class. Eishi and the other's kept their eyes ahead of the road, and it was unusually quiet for the moment. He now knew what it felt like to have one foot out of the walls. It was weird to see so many trees in the distance, because he'd hardly thought of looking past the walls, and the few times that he chanced it was not very memorable.

"So far it looks as if things have gone as planned," said Jake, staring seriously up over at the sky. "Look, the green signal flares are rising." He reached beside him and pulled out the gun, but Eishi would notice that his grip was trembling a bit. "We better send ours up as well."

"What's the objective of this mission anyway?" asked Eishi.

Petra answered for them, as the flare shot up. "We're going to be heading into a forested area, looking for clues in the habitat to study the titans. But I heard rumors that we are going to try and capture two of them."

"..." There was silence from all three of them.

"I know I shouldn't be disappointed," said Eishi. "But I was expecting a little more blood."

"That time will come soon enough," Jake stated, his expression seeming gloomy.

* * *

_Should the area be crowded with people, we will be bound to confront them sooner, we were told._

They were standing in front of a stream, and Isabel was practically beaming. "The water!" she cried, placing her hands in it. "Look, Levi. It's so clean!"

Levi turned away as Farland started to drag Isabel off. "We're not here to play games," he said, pretending to be disinterested. He then pointed over to Jake and Eishi, standing in the background, as well as Petra. "You two, what are you standing there for?" He seemed to pointedly ignore reprimanding Petra, who had already started walking off towards the trees.

"We either climb or use our arrows. I'm sure you know how to get all the way up there. Hurry up because everyone else is already halfway there."

Eishi frowned, but nodded anyway. "Right!"

The branches were huge, the oaks having reached so tall that it was almost hard to see where they ended. Eishi raised his hand and instinctively the 3d maneuver gear strings launched itself at the tree. He felt like he was flying as the hooks sank into the bark and he lifted. He ended up landing in an area away from Jake, but was able to see the other off in the distance. Still, he was nearby some of the other new recruits, who were talking a bit lightheartedly.

"Can't wait to see a titan," said one of them. "I need to practice my new moves. My sword is getting rusty." Eishi winced as he had to wonder what the other meant, seeing as he had just enlisted and was one of the new faces that he'd briefly spotted. "Too bad the more experienced guys get to play bait. We have to stand here and watch."

_When a titan starts appearing, some of them will run fast. Others will walk. We basically want just one or two that seems weak._

A scream distracted him from his thoughts, and suddenly, he noticed that one of the girls had witnessed something horrific and had fallen out of the tree, to be cornered. She had apparently been standing too close and had injured herself from the fall, unable to move as her ankle was twisted and the titans nearby were starting to crawl their way over. He panicked and swung his way towards her. "Hey you. What are you doing. We were told to stay put!"

He didn't listen, but someone had already made their way up close. It was Petra, doing her best to try and fend off the beasts from preying on the girl. She maneuvered her way expertly, already taking down a few titans, but she wasn't alone. Levi and Farland were trying to help her out, blades flashing and glinting in the sun, as blood from the napes of the titan's neck would splash upon the grass. Isabel was nowhere to be found.

He started to feel numb for a second, but he jumped when there was a tap on his shoulder. Jake had landed stealthily beside him while he was watching, mouth agape, standing on a lone tree branch.

"It should be fine," he stated. "Look, Petra has already gotten her to a safe place."

He turned to smile at the other before he suddenly caught sight of a giant hand making it's way up from the branch.

_The best way to handle a titan is to team up. Luckily this aberrant was only good at climbing trees._

Without noticing it, he had dashed forward and his blade jabbed into the titan's wrist. He hacked like a madman, taking a few more strikes to entirely dislocate it, hoping that it would cause the monster to fall right back. It seemed that they had encountered an aberrant. The other hand simply clung to a branch, and the ugly face staring at them seemed to be swinging upon the bars, launching itself like a monkey with it's ever present smirk as the hand stump raised, getting ready to slam into him. It was as if the beast's hand had not been dislocated at all, as if this one could not feel pain. He flung out an arrow and dodged, lifting himself backwards out of the way.

Jake had already removed himself from the previous position that he'd been standing in. His blade sliced back at the titan's neck, digging in two scars in the back. Unfortunately, it was not deep enough, and he had to jump back as the regenerated hand reached out to swat at him.

Now it was his turn, and he slammed his body into the titan from the back, driving his sword into an area close to the back of it's spine. One could say that he attempted to stab right into the sensitive area, if they were looking at it from behind. "Got you!" He cried out. "That ought to piss you off."

Jake returned to aiming at the monster's neck, and it was over. Blood flew from the air in two spurts of streams, but the other seemed to have regained his viciousness. There was no hesitance in the last slash as he spotted his brother's legs perched from behind on top near the base of the giant's neck. They both drew back, landing on an even lower branch, as the body seemed to freeze in slow motion, and then dropped from the branches it had been playing swing from.

"We have to get back up," Jake breathed out, the exertion of being flung around, using one's bodily strength and taking down a titan seeming to take it's toll on him.

Without another move, he picked up the protesting Eishi, flinging him over his shoulder and darted back up towards a higher branch. "Wait a minute. It's not like those other things down there can climb up!"

The two of them headed back from the trip, right as night fell, but Eishi could not help but feel that something was a bit off. There was no talk of having captured any titans, and as a matter of fact, there seemed to be more talk of the dead bodies that had piled up.

* * *

Erwin Smith simply escorted Levi into a room.

This was not a simple meeting between the two of them, but it really didn't take long before the other had attempted to attack him. After the death of his friends, the plan had fallen apart, which left the boy nothing left to take on but his vengeance. He'd witnessed firsthand, however, the skill that Erwin had, and it turned out to be futile. Usually, in this case, Levi could have been tried for treason, but he still had other plans for this boy.

"Are you going to speak up for yourself while I'm here?" he asked, after a steely silence had enveloped them. "You were always a pretty difficult one. I'm sure you don't want me to force it out of you again."

"..." Still nothing, but Erwin probably knew the gist of what had happened. After all, he had kept a rather close eye on the group. He sighed, and drew his blade, before pointing it at the other. "Very well. Lets have another match."

Unexpectedly, Levi started speaking up. "You knew this would happen," he accused, his eyes narrowed at the other. "We were forced into this from the beginning."

"Inevitably, this will happen to more than just them," Erwin stated. The situation could not simply be handled delicately with this boy. "Sacrifices have to be made -"

"Bullshit." It was spat out quietly but the venom did not leave the boy's tone. "We could have escaped prison. This is different."

"Sacrifices were made to atone for the crimes that you committed, Levi," Erwin said. "Did you really think we would stop once you escaped whatever cell they held you at? You have talent and I was willing to use whatever means necessary because the recon corps needs that. And I understand very well what it feels like to lose people you care about. But it will keep happening and it will not end until humanity manages to restore it's land."

He was at his breaking point, still picturing his friend's faces, all for the sake of some cause that this man he couldn't kill was willing to use him for, but the changing point came when that same person's hand was placed on his shoulder, and he was pulled into a hug.

It was not something he felt often in his life, as he'd naturally kept his distance until now. He stiffened up, but the usual reaction to knee the other in the gut was kept at bay from the bruises the previous struggle had gotten him. Instead, he just hissed out, but felt oddly sad. The anger that threatened to boil over him, was kept at bay by the next words.

"I know there is no reason for you to trust me," said Erwin. "But that can only come with time and practice. I have forced you into a situation where there is no room to run anymore, because I have a good feeling you will survive this. So work with me, and take vengeance for your friends. Give me the chance to show you what you can do because you have to. Their deaths will not be in vain because you can live on."


	8. Understanding Eren

_I had watched the first titan battle ever in one of the towns. It was a gigantic female titan versus Eren Yeager, the kid with more expectations on him than the entirety of humanity put together. I wondered that night if he understood the weight of the situation, when watching the way the deformed body fought, so free of worries. It brought back memories of Soliel, and what once was a tragedy that I could not bring myself to talk about, came just a little hope. It is true that titans are known for their sadism and their complete lack of restraint and cruelty. I've worked as a nurse to know all the damage that can be done, and then as a doctor, to witness the irreparable destruction of a person missing their head while a family cried in the background. But Eren wasn't like the rest of them, he wasn't even like us._

It had been a night full of restlessness when it came to one particular doctor. After seeing all the broken glass and houses that might have been stepped on, he had returned home, only to have nightmares about the past, where thin stretched out smiles and large teeth encircled his body as a big hand brutally snapped his form in half. When he had awoken, it was in a sheen of sweat, and he'd decided just then to visit the hospital. Still shaky, he reached for the phone beside his bed and dialed the number of a contact who had just seen Eren right when he'd been checked in, and a familiar voice picked up the receiver on the other end.

"I didn't think you would call us so soon, Eishi," Sai said on the other end. "You're always overworking yourself. It's a surprise you haven't matured since then."

Eishi gave a light scoff, but it was clear at least to them that it was more playful than anything. "How is he doing?" He asked the more experienced doctor.

"It went from damaged to almost good as new in one night. I think it'd be a shame if you didn't see this for yourself."

The other then hung up abruptly, leaving the man to sigh and shake his head. As usual, they were at least two steps ahead of him when it came to reading his intentions and never seemed to hold back in giving their own opinions on the matter.

* * *

When he arrived to the room that Eren had been kept in, there was hardly anyone there. It was past midnight, and the people who had been watching the rooms and guarding it were almost half asleep. There was the usual nightshift staff, who went in to check on the patients and their condition so he got past with a simple nod of his head. It would be different than it was in the morning, in a way, where the walls were lit with sunshine and gave a cheery feel to the entire atmosphere of the rooms, and the clinical air in which doctors behaved around the patients were clearly missing as most of them wanted good rest for the injured. Even a hospital could be bustling with some kind of life at one point, and it had been reassuring enough.

But he was anxious and it seemed to escape the back of his mind on why, a mixed feeling of knotted up tension wiggling like butterflies in his stomach as he tried to imagine what the titan shifter could have been doing. 'Calm down,' he told himself lightly. 'It's not like the fate of the world rests upon my shoulders.' He had been calm and collected, giving the guys at the door a smile, but as soon as he shut it behind him, he jerked towards the person in the room with a narrowed gaze. To his relief, they were simply resting. There was no imposing figure, reading a book of mathmatics, or a strategist, playing a lone game of chest. Their outlook was simply normal, knocked out, completely unconscious and fitting the kid with hopeful eyes when he'd been announced to the world as Humanity's last hope.

He watched the boy sleeping on the bed and had honestly imagined them in a worse state. There had been rumors that his shell of a titan body had disappeared and dissipated into smoke, and it seemed to be true. This left him wondering if there was any connection then to the state of the other's body towards the boy, in which some of his own flesh disappeared as well during each transformation in which he'd even tried to doodle out the depicted outcome to his co-workers.

Instead, they looked peaceful, as if they'd never looked a monster in the eye. In fact, he was worried for a moment that they were not breathing, despite the way their eyes rolled around beneath their eyelids. Still, normal in health otherwise. Why they were sleeping in the hospital, of all places, was not very clear, but he supposed that it was good for procedure since they had been in a battle with another titan. He had been out of it for at least two days by now, Eishi noted, as he picked up a chart nearby and checked some of the notes that the other staff members had made.

"And there it is," he said to himself as his eyes once again strayed on the sleeping form. "My meeting with Eren. It was nice to meet you, even in this state. I want you to know that your dad is probably very proud of you."

Of course, he had no clue that was the wrong thing to say. The moment that he said it, the sleeping person's frame seemed to twist and turn in the bed. There was a pause and his eyes widened slightly, bugging out as he stared at Eren who was now mumbling words in his sleep with tears trailing down from his gaze. He cautiously moved closer, attempting to pull the covers back over his form, but oddly curious to listen to what the other was saying, leaning in with his ears facing the other, and an expression of confusion on his face. There was ragged panting, as it seemed that Eren was finally reacting in an odd sort of sleep talking. Upon closer examination, they were pale and clammy, as their eyelashes flickered slightly and as their throat trembled with pain.

"Dad... I'm sorry..." Eren managed out. "I didn't mean to..." As if on cue when Eren felt the movement of a person nearby, Eishi's wrist was snatched, and tugging gently in every way possible to dislodge the grip seemed impossible. "Don't leave.. not like this...damnit.."

Guilt tugged over him at what he had just said. It had been rash to assume that the boy had a happy father. Sure, there were rumors to the other's past, and he like many others had come up with theories on what had actually happened, along with the common knowledge that his dad seemed to have been responsible for Eren's transformation. But how was he to know that there was a graver significance to it? To say that he was surprised was an understatement, but he snapped back to his senses when more of the nightmare seemed to surface inside the other and reached forward in an attempt to shake the other awake. "Hey kid, snap out of it," he started in as firm as a tone he could muster, but more of the teary-eyed murmurs stopped him, sending a sympathetic note to sound in his conscience. They never once opened their eyes, and the moment itself was hitting some nerves inside him, to the point that he was beginning to feel the suffering that the other was going through. After all, what kind of kid would reach out to him like that; to their father, to be more precise, who up until now was shrouded in more mystery than Eren himself.

"It's going to be okay," he said to the other finally, and awkwardly as if he were sounding out a strange script that had just been handed to him.

He didn't think it would work, and resolved for a moment that he would stay next to the other all night if he had to. He probably wasn't the only one who had done so either, if others ended up speaking to Eren when he was asleep. He waited for a moment and he felt the hand on his arm relax, and let out a sigh of relief. He ended up pulling the covers back over their form, and heading out of the room, but glancing backwards all the while in which he did so. He felt that if he didn't, then the image of that fragile little kid would have slipped away, along with this new sort of understanding that had shown up in just a span of a few seconds.

That night, he arrived back home and collapsed into bed in a blissfully dreamless state, every now and then, a flashing picture of smiling green eyes drifting in the back of his mind.

 


	9. Trigger lock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi gets injured, and his arrival back to the hospital bed brings on a set of new complications for Eishi. Some things never change.

It had been months since he had heard from the other, but that was to be expected. Eishi had to admit to himself that it was unfortunate since Levi had been the sole source of entertainment for him, returning with stories and details of what had happened from the war on the titans. Shortly after Eren's fight with the the female titan, the details had slowly emerged from the rumors that the newspapers spread, heavily convoluted but cleared up in a few short sentences. It would seem like yesterday since the man had been around, drinking from his tea and mostly observing, making a few comments here and there that made people passing by feel smaller. He did not seem to like any open attention, and that was fine with the purple haired medic. What he enjoyed had been his attempts to pry the truth out of the other, going so far as to explain what others thought in a tale that seemed ridiculous to anyone, as well as the scent of whatever flavor of tea seemed to have fallen into Levi's hands.

So he ended up toiling the days away, working harder than usual with a consistency that even surprised Sai, his delicate mentor. Days passed and swiftly turned into months. He had been playing nurse and doctor for the staff members who always seemed undersourced for the amount of patients that they saw.

Work was cheerful as ever, and busy with sounds of sick children crying and others just speaking down in one hall, and the soft rotation of the wheels on wheelchairs, perhaps inaudible when a family member volunteered to steer their relative from behind. Though most would see the atmosphere as some sort of funeral march, the former soldier was comforted in a way by the progress of people who strived to stand, unknowingly in the face of the areas outside the wall. The chaos of people who dared to go out with their heads rolling and missing, being a rarity. Titans were more likely to consume the upper half whole while the person was still alive.

Then of course the first hint of news spread as quickly as wildfire. Levi had been injured in a battle. It was nothing new and not much word had been sent to the public, but the top officials at the hospital had been quite smug about the issue, seeming to point out that even a hero had to take a break sometime. That was of course, about all that was mentioned as even they didn't know the entire story. He had his own suspicions of course, mostly that after the fight with the female titan that seemed so long ago, something had caused his injuries to act up.

When Levi finally arrived, he walked straight to his room, accompanied by some nurses who tried to insist that he use a wheelchair, and slammed the door to a group of stunned doctors who had crowded by hesitantly to catch sight of him.

"S..so, that is Levi.." a newer doctor said, seeming very startled. Eishi, who had been in the group nodded.

"Yeah, that's Levi."

"...He's really injured?"

To that, Eishi didn't have a response to.

* * *

"For someone with these complications, you really shouldn't be up and walking so well." A senior doctor with graying strands and tired eyes tried to explain.

It was then when he had entered the room, carrying a bunch of cleaning supplies. Unlike the rest of the staff, Eishi seemed to come overly prepared, and no one was even surprised when he started dusting the vase of flowers with a duster. It didn't take long for the doctor to give Eishi a nod and then stride out, after giving a terse explanation of the injuries and the areas he should focus on healing from. Around that time, he worked on cleaning the windows, using a towel to wipe away at the pane of glass, after spraying a liquid solution upon it. The scent of Sakura blossoms, artificially filled the air for a moment, before what looked like the second time of himself wiping an already clean area.

"The windows are the worst part," he said to his stern-eyed companion, who was now reaching over to read the newspaper. "It's usually shiny so people tend to overlook it sometimes. Then the next thing you know, all sorts of dust get caught up in it."

"You know, you don't have to try so hard to catch my attention," came a somewhat sarcastic sounding reply.

He paused, while trying to figure out how to hook up one of those new steam vacuums that some of the cleaners were so proud of, and feigned a bit of surprise, before saying. "But I'm serious. If you run your finger over the windowsill, there's always dust there. And this thing – " He paused, and tapped the handle of the new vacuum steam cleaner, which surprisingly started in a soft little vibrating hum, and he started to clean the floors. He didn't have to look up to sense the roll of a pair of eyes being pointed up in a bit of exasperation towards the ceiling, likely for a brief moment before they scanned over the newspapers once more.

It was surprising, after all, that Levi hadn't kicked him out, like the first few times when Eishi walked in on a moment where he was having a private conversation with Erwin. Just one narrow of those eyes, and a smile from Erwin had caused him to politely duck out, stuttering like some steam puffing teakettle. It had never ceased to amaze him since the man's first speech, and Eishi found that while he was most easygoing around brash personalities like Levi's, it was kind of different and awkward around a man who seemed to read every intention of others in the blink of an eye.

It took a few minutes longer than necessary to figure out how to turn off the instrument, and Eishi was about to throw up his hands and give up when Levi got up from the bed and turned it off for him. "A series of taps," he stated in response to the questioning look that the head taller person gave him. He didn't bother to explain, but Eishi had known him long enough that he could guess that he had probably purchased the same type of machine when it first came out.

The moment, Eishi felt, was just a little closer to that point where they seemed to share a knowing look, before the other's gaze suddenly hardened. Before he knew it, the vacuum was shoved roughly aside and there was hardly a warning before his head hit the floor and he was tackled to the ground. Luckily, his arms braced out to the floor so that the impact didn't land fully on his head.

"Close your eyes!" came a voice from the distance while the shock dulled his senses and he did so, for it was the most serious sounding that he had heard from the other before.

The shattering of glass was the only indication, other than the sound of a gunshot. Broken pieces of shards rained around them, in which the other was likely cut in the process. All throughout this, his heart was pounding quickly and then the sound of an arrow slamming into the wall was made known, shot in a way that caused it to stick into the wall, as if the person who had done so had another target in mind.

When he opened his eyes, and stared at it, Levi had already made his way over to the note, and had pulled it down from where the arrow had pierced it.

Of course, thought Eishi to himself. It was too soon for things to return to peace after all. Simply written in blood on the paper, was the message:

_**Where is she?** _

It was a message written over a drawing of Audrey that Eishi had sketched long ago.

* * *

Audrey grew up alongside Eishi. She was allowed liberties that many other girls her age were not privy to. Her father, a quiet little noble had taken to their stubborn mother, who was born outside of noble lineage. Because Eishi was an orphan, they had somehow found some similarities to eachother and his own personality seemed to attract her quiet, thoughtful nature. He was the loud, and spirited one, like her mother was to her father, and so she quickly became protective of him at times.

Her passion, aside from drawing, happened to be uncovering mysteries. She read a lot of fiction novels in this field, and one day stumbled on a secret...

Around 10 years ago, she had followed her father out on a trip which he had been very secretive about. She found him standing in the alleyway with a mysterious man who would later be known as Charlen.

"I gave you the data.. all that I've had," said Edward, pushing back his round glasses nervously. "All that I asked was that you keep my family out of this."

Charlen simply paused, blonde haired and blue eyes, looking a lot less sinister than he would someday, and simply smirked. "You knew the rules when you joined," he stated softly. "We made a deal that no one would be spared. Your daughter.. in particular. She has the chance to become someone of great deal to our cause. Surely, you didn't think we'd simply just thrust this project onto someone who was less significant than to the very man who added to this very technology?"

Edward narrowed his eyes and clenched one fist lightly at his side. "You're asking her to do something that will completely isolate her from all humanity. Do you have any idea of the type of curse this sort of thing is to bestow upon others?"

Charlen paused, and then simply laughed, beginning to circle the man after raising a finger to prod at his shoulder. "Ah yes, you the father are suddenly having second decisions. I believe I remember I told you to read the fine print, of course, but you eagerly made a contract of sorts with me without hesitation for the resources that I could give. My very own son, as well, the first of our family died for that cause, and yet you – think that your daughter is above all of this? What kind of man are you, Edward.. Would you truly stand for your own blood over knowledge? There is still so much you could learn, and yet you're throwing all of this away."

"Knowledge is nothing if it does not benefit anyone," said Edward numbly, but a look of indecision crossed his face. "Leave me and my family out of this, I've left everything with you."

"Oh, but it's too late," said Charlen suddenly and he waved a hand over to gesture to the daughter who was hiding behind the corner of the alleyway. "Have you lost your senses in that you didn't notice that girl spying on us this whole time? Perhaps you should let her decide her fate, dearest father. Come now, do you not want to benefit your father's cause, and perhaps spare his life?"

Edward paused turned considerably more pale. His eyes narrowed as Audrey stepped out the corner of the alleyway, and made her way down the pebbly steps to stop before them.

She paused, looking ever so small against the alleyways, and finally sighed.

"No," she said simply.

Charlen returned the answer with a smile. "Then so be it."

A gun was drawn that night, but instead of being pointed at her father, it was pointed towards her instead, but Edward quickly stepped in the way before it could be fired.

"Enough, Charlen!" he cried out. "You've scared her enough, already, so let it go."

Of course, it was common knowledge that a missing head of the family was more noticeable than a missing child. Both of them knew that Charlen could not kill Edward for this sole very reason, at least, not without the agreement of the other nobles, and then they'd have to vote for approval on such a matter, something that the weary father was willing to risk for his daughter.

There was a long, drawn out silence, and then the gun was withdrawn. Charlen shot Audrey a leering look and then started to march away, but in a slow, leisurely manner that looked as if he was making fun of a soldier on purpose.

"This is not the end of what you'll hear from me ..Edward," said Charlen. "Pretty soon, I swear on it. People might forget that you even existed."

 


End file.
